Bernard says she used to be very liberal in her belief that government-run health care was the best way to provide health care to the underserved, particularly in rural populations. It’s what she believed when she began medical school and signed up for a scholarship that would place her in a Federally Qualified Health Center where she would work in exchange for tuition remission.

Her experience there — the paperwork, bureaucracy, and burnout — left her feeling that she wasn’t doing her patients — or herself — any favors. She ultimately freed herself and found the direct primary care model, and her love of the doctor-patient relationship, again. In her article, she talks about why the government provision of health care is highly problematic, especially if it’s “the only game in town” which is the goal of single-payer and Medicare For All programs. She joins the Health Care News podcast to discuss why the free market offers better options to both patients and doctors.